The Son of the Moon
by splattyhart
Summary: Princess Luna has a son, Prince Timekeeper, a male alicorn, but he doesn't know, and there are disastrous outcomes to when he finds out. It's up to him and his only childhood friend, the unicorn Twilight Sparkle, to restore balance and Luna's mind. Timekeeper is my FC (FanChar). Not much plot here cause I like to leave the story-telling to the story, not the summary. Happy reading.
1. Chapter 1

**The Return of Nightmare Moon**

**Chapter One**

Princess Luna flew through the ever-shifting realm that was her night, her wings blotting out the stars for the few ponies who were still awake at her time of rule, the night. She began to feel some of her old resentment coming back, but she smothered it, shaking her head. She wheeled around and headed towards the dark green mass of trees that was the Everfree Forest. She needed to be alone. Luna flew over the Everfree Forest, not pausing or wavering from her course. She looked down and saw Zecora's house, with the zebra gathering herbs outside it. She paused in mid-air, thinking about speaking to her or not. Luna was about to decide against it, but at that moment Zecora looked up in the air and saw the princess. She smiled up and said:

"Royal princess, what a surprise! You are indeed a sight for my sorry eyes." Luna tilted her head curiously.

"What is your problem, Zecora? Do you not have enough herbs for a remedy?" she said, flying down to land beside her.

"No, no, that is not today my foe. Instead today, my hut is beset by Poes. Evil, evil spirits they are, called by demons from near and far," Zecora said. "If you look here, you will see; my way to keep them away from me." She pointed to what seemed to be a line in the dirt, but as Luna looked closer she saw that the little chasm running around the hut contained a flowing slivery liquid.

"Ha. Quicksilver. Very clever, Zecora," Luna said. "But how did you get hold of this? The only sample I know of is in the Canterlot Archives."

"Ah, yes… well, to Twilight Sparkle my troubles I explained, and she saw that I got this to keep the Poes away," said Zecora sheepishly. Luna laughed.

"You will not be told off for keeping yourself safe, just make sure you ask me or Celestia next time, alright?" she said.

"Of course, your Highness, if this substance you will provide us," sighed Zecora, relieved that she had not got into trouble.

"And also, Zecora… call me Luna," said the princess after a moment of thought.

"Yes your High- I mean, Luna," gasped Zecora, momentarily losing her mysterious atmosphere. Luna laughed again and started to fly away into the starry void of night, over the Everfree Forest. A while later, the princess came to rest in a secluded part of the forest, filled with tall trees and long grass. In the middle of a clearing there lay a temple-like structure fashioned out of the trees with some stone parts thrown in there. The temple had no roof, and it was curved to any occupant of the building would be able to see the Moon on a clear night from wherever they stood. Above the main entrance to the structure there was a stone plaque bearing the Moon, but with one slight change; the Mare in the Moon was still there. Luna looked at the plaque as she walked inside, remembering the thousand years that she had spent on the lunar satellite as that monster, Nightmare Moon. She remembered the day when Celestia had been forced to banish here there, and the day where she first became Nightmare Moon…

_Luna stood in the Lunar tower of the first Canterlot, surveying the sun set in the east. She looked over to the Celestial tower and saw her sister lowering the Sun with her magic. Celestia looked over to Luna and smiled, and Luna smiled back, but it was a false smile, for inside she was raging with bitterness and anger. How was it that Celestia got all the adoring subjects, when not a pony in all of Equestria knew of Luna's existence?! She stamped her back hoof angrily, raised the moon and stormed back inside, furiously slamming the door behind her. She ran to her bed and leapt on it, tears of anger and sadness stinging her eyes. Luna heard hoofsteps on the ledge outside as her sister landed. She heard a knock on the door and Celestia softly called from outside._

"_Luna, my sister? Are you alright?" she asked._

"_No! I am not 'alright', as you put it. You might as well come in, you're the only pony around here who sees anything of me," Luna replied, sadness creeping into her voice. As the door opened, Celestia said:_

"_Ah, so that's what this is about."_

"_What else was it going to be about?" Luna replied, both angry and curiously._

"_Well, maybe some young stallion caught your eye, but he rebuffed you? That happened to me when I was a teenage pony, you know," Celestia said._

"…_Thanks for reminding me about Eclipse!" said Luna, dissolving into a fresh wave of tears._

"_Oh, Luna. So, tell me, why were you so angry when you raised the moon tonight?" asked Celestia_

"_When you raise the sun, big sister, eveerypony in Equestria comes out to rejoice and live! But when I raise the moon, they shun the starry night I bring, and go indoors!" sniffled Luna. "And when I try to make friends in Ponyville, they accuse me of being your enemy and call the royal guard!"_

"_Maybe you should come into Ponyville with me one day?" suggested her sister_

"_It will be no use. They have never likes us, and they never shall," said Luna, slightly hysterical._

"_I will prove to you that our subjects will love you, one day. But now, tell me about this Eclipse pony."_

"_Well…" started Luna guiltily. "Remember when I told you I was over at StarShine's house for a sleepover?"_

"_Yes…?"_

"_I was with him," said Luna hurriedly. Celestia looked stunned._

"_Did you…"_

"_Yep"_

"_Are you…"_

"_Yep"_

"_So when he found out you had a filly, he dumped you?"_

"_Mhm"_

"_Well… Uhm… Congratulations? I think," said Celestia, looking clueless. Luna smiled slightly. "Anyway, get some sleep, my little pony. You will need it," said Celestia._

"_Yes, sis. Thanks for not being mad at me," said Luna. Celestia laughed and walked out, closing the door behind her. As soon as she had gone, a dark, slightly manic voice spoke to Luna._

"_She doesn't care about you. No one does. No-one will know about you unless you make the night eternal," the voice said. Luna's eyes widened and she shook her head._

"_No!" she whispered. But the voice became persuasive, seductive even, and it soon convinced Luna to follow its plan. Far away, in the Canterlot Statue Garden, Discord smiled._

_In the morning, Celestia knocked on Luna's door, but found it open. She looked out to the balcony and saw Luna there, staring up to the Moon._

"_Sister, it is time for you to lower the Moon, so I can raise the Sun," she said. Luna twisted her neck to get a look at Celestia without her seeing her face._

"_No," said Luna. "I will not lower the Moon. Too long have I been shunned in the dark, while you swan about in the day." She whirled around and stood up on her hind legs so Celestia could see that she was taller and was wearing silvery armor._

"_For until I am loved like you are, the night will last __FOREVER! __I am Nightmare Moon!"_

Luna shuddered at these recollections as she walked through the archway. She had regretted that day ever since it happened. The two sisters fought over the land, and eventually it had escalated into a full-scale war. When Celestia had won the war, she had banished Luna to the Moon using the Elements of Harmony, but she had somehow escaped. As Nightmare Moon was in control, she hadn't the foggiest idea on _how _she escaped, but escape she did. Luna had kidnapped her sister and tried to bring about eternal night… _again_. Luckily for Celestia and Luna alike, the purple unicorn Twilight Sparkle had mastered the Elements of Harmony. She and her friends had destroyed Nightmare Moon, leaving Luna in her most helpless state, a filly younger than Twilight, but Nightmare Moon's armor had been left behind. Over the next year she had grown into the form that she was before Nightmare Moon. This was the first "miracle" depicted on the stained-glass windows that lined the wall. As Luna walked through what was a smaller version of the Canterlot Throne Room, she passed many other murals. The time Spike the Dragon returned the Crystal Heart to the Empire, the time when Twilight Sparkle stood up against Discord, and many others. Luna looked around, smiling slightly as she compared this room with the Throne Room. She missed her bed back at the castle, and her room, and her friends. She had tried to keep Eclipse out of her mind, but Luna knew she had to face the memories again, along with her son, Timekeeper. Luna shook her head, trying to clear it, and walked up to the main podium, where, in Canterlot, the Throne would be. Instead, here there was a stone table, and on it was laid out Nightmare Moon's armor. She had kept it, just incase Nightmare's power was needed again. She hoped it would not, but it paid to be prepared. He had also made arrangements with Celestia, Twilight and her friends to use the Elements on her if Nightmare Moon became dominant. Luna sighed and, using her magic, picked up the helmet of the armor steps, closed her eyes and tilted her head and the helmet, then made the two touch. At least now she could pretend that another pony, maybe Eclipse, was there with her. Luna opened her eyes and looked at the helmet, moving away from her so she could look it in the 'eyes'. As much as she hated being Nightmare Moon, she missed the power, her strong wings, and, above all, the look Celestia had given her when the two had re-united. A single, silver tear dropped from her eye.

Suddenly she whirled around as she heard hoofsteps approaching. Her eyes widened as she saw that the newcomers were the other princesses, Celestia and Cadence.

"Sister! Cadence! Why are you here? How did you even find this place?" she said, accidentally slipping into the Royal Canterlot Voice. Her questions also became more suspicious as she went on, thinking that Twilight Sparkle had told Celestia about this place. Twilight was the only one the Night Princess had told about the temple, which was a monument to all her sins. At her questions, both of the Princesses laughed.

"We were not told about this place, Cadence and I were simply… flying this way as well, and we spotted you here," Celestia said.

"You were following me?!" Luna demanded, outraged.

"We are worried about you, Aunt Luna," Cadence said sadly. "Celestia and I both noticed that you have not been returning to the Lunar Tower after the Moon had been risen, and we worried that Nightmare Moon was coming back. We hope we are wrong, but judging from the helmet floating beside you, we are not," she said. Luna shook her head and set the helmet down.

"You are wrong… and yet right. Is it wrong of me to wish that, in a way, I was to wield the power I once had?" Luna asked, both shamefully and curiously. Celestia tilted her head.

"Cadence, go get Twilight Sparkle. We will need her," she said, and Luna's eyes once again watered up.

"No… please sister, don't send me back to the Moon," she pleaded as Cadence walked off. To Luna's utmost surprise, Celestia laughed.

"I am not going to send you back to the Moon, simply show you something I think that you are now ready to know," she chortled. Luna felt her cheeks going red.

"Oh… whoops," she said, giggling slightly. "Hang on, if I do not know this, then why does Twilight Sparkle?" she asked.

"Oh, dear sister, if you had not become consumed with anger and bitterness, you would have learnt this very soon. Twilight is my personal student, remember, and has been for nearly a decade," said Celestia, bringing her hoofs forward and pulling Luna into a hug. "But now I have my little sister back, so maybe you could teach her some things as well. You spent many days in the Great Archives, teaching yourself things that I never could grasp." Luna didn't say anything. Her surprise at being enveloped by her sister was to great, and she was rendered speechless. Instead of replying with words, Luna just pressed herself closer to Celestia, taking _her _by surprise this time. Celestia looked down at Luna, using her hooves to tilt Luna's head back. The two looked into each others eyes, Luna seeing a sister who cared about much, but often held back to save the one that she cared about from knowledge that may be harmful. In Luna's eyes, Celestia saw a young filly who has not yet found her place in the world, a filly that cared about everypony and everything, but most of all her sister. But this filly was hurt that the only time Celestia expressed her love for Luna was when she was forgiving. As Celestia saw this, she was shocked by the revelations. "I didn't realize you felt like that, Luna," she said.

"Ever since I came back from the Moon, I have been uncertain about my place, my abilities and my family, but the one thing I have longed for is the compassion you gave me when you forgave me. Without that, I did not feel whole," Luna replied.

"You should have told me, sister," Celestia whispered, small tears dripping down her cheeks. Luna laughed quietly.

"What would have done if I had? I did not know, and I did not want to take the chance."

"Oh, Luna…" Celestia said, and the two embraced with more enthusiasm. "Tell me next time, ok?" Luna smiled.

"Of course, sister," she said, and the two loving sisters split apart. The both looked towards the entrance and two sets of hoofsteps began clattering over the stone floor. Princess Cadence had returned, along with Twilight Sparkle.

"Twilight, my most faithful student," Celestia said. "I have a favor to ask of you. Could you tell my sister what happened to the strength of your magic after you moved to Ponyville?" Twilight looked surprised. She was expecting a test. Like always.

"Of course," she said, looking at Luna. "But why would Princess Luna need to know about that?"

"Please, Twilight."

"Ok," said Twilight, looking at Luna. "When I made friends, I noticed a great increase in my abilities. I could easily perform spells that one I had great difficulty in casting." Luna tilted her head, curious.

"I used to have someone who was more than a friend to me, but I don't think that my magic changed to a large degree," she said. Twilight laughed slightly.

"It's not friendship that does it, it's as simple as confidence," she said, coming forward and placing a hoof on Luna's chest. "Although the magic of friendship does help slightly, if you simply believe, and truly believe that you can do something, then you can often do it. My friends gave me the confidence to believe that I could perform spells that were once beyond me. It was my parents' confidence that allowed me to begin to learn magic. And, Luna, it was you who allowed me to believe that anything is possible," Twilight said. Luna blinked tears out of her eyes.

"You see, sister?" Celestia said, walking up beside Twilight.

"If you truly think you can do it, then you can do it," Cadence completed, standing the other side of the lavender mare.

"So you want the power you once had?" Celestia said, walking forward and placing a hoof on Luna's chest. "You already have it. It is right…" she tapped Luna's chest. "Here." Luna looked down at the gold-gilded hoof on her chest, a small tear coming out of her eye and landing on the hoof.

"Thank you, Twilight, Cadence… Celestia," she said, reaching up ad putting a hoof on Celestia's face. "I missed you."

"And I you, little sister," Celestia replied. "Oh, I have a matter that requires your royal attention."

"Yes?" Luna replied, exasperated and disappointed that they had gone onto princess business.

"It's about Timekeeper." Luna looked up from one of the stained-glass windows abruptly.

"Oh?" she tried to sound casual, but her poise and tenseness betrayed her.

"He weakens. He needs to speak to you soon, although his work on the Hourglass has come forward leaps and bounds, especially with Dr. Whooves helping him," Celestia said.

"He has made many major improvements to the Hourglass, adding not just minutes to it, but seconds, milliseconds, nanoseconds, quarthours, halfhours, and any other kind of time that you can think of," Cadence continued.

"And because he sees his friends a lot more than he used to, he has lasted a lot longer than we thought. Seeing you take such a shine to him really uplifted his spirits, but staying in the stasis crystal for nearly a thousand years really took it's toll," Twilight finished.

"He needs to know who his mother is, or he isn't going to last the month," Celestia said sadly. Luna gasped quietly.

"Oh, no," she said, tears forming in her eyes yet again.

"Uhm, should I go?" Cadence said, stepping forward as she saw Luna's tears.

"Yes, I think that would be for the best," Celestia said, looking at Luna in concern. "Twilight, go with her, but we will need to see you in the morning. It would be best if you took up residence in Canterlot for a night or two, as it would save you the effort of taking the train tomorrow." Twilight nodded and walked out beside Cadence. Luna stood up resolutely, after having fallen to the ground in grief.

"I will speak with him tomorrow, and ensure he knows the truth about his mother," she said determinedly.

"And I will not be the pony to stop you," Celestia replied, nuzzling her sister.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Twilight walked up to the Canterlot Castle, hoping to learn some more about the Great Hourglass after hearing again last night. Her friend, Timekeeper refused to say anything about his job, but Twilight knew he helped maintain the Hourglass, often adding improvements even with his decaying state. After being stuck in a stasis crystal for nearly a thousand years, his body had decayed to such a degree that it was extremely weak. His muscles had degraded, and his heart was very nearly stopping. Celestia has told Twilight that the foal had required her personal attention to save it. The foal had turned out to be an alicorn male, and Celestia named him Timekeeper, and told Twilight that she was honoring a very old promise. Timekeeper was brought up in Canterlot, and introduced to Twilight when Cadence had started to foalsit her. The two had got on well, and had become good friends, but when Timekeeper got his Cutie Mark and became Caretaker of the Hourglass, Twilight had seen less and less of him, eventually getting to the point where she couldn't remember his voice. But now she was off to see him again, after about a year of her memory of him teetering on the edge of forgetting. She felt relieved, but also apprehensive. How had Timekeeper changed in the last year? Was he still the smart, enthusiastic colt that sometimes liked getting his hands dirty but other times didn't? Did he still like her? Did he even _remember _her? Twilight shook her head to clear her head of these thoughts, attracting the attention of Spike, Twilight's assistant and friend.

"What's wrong, Twilight?" he asked with concern, jarring Twilight out of her confused thoughts.

"Oh, nothing Spike. I just want to see Timekeeper again. It's been a while, and so many things have changed. I wonder what has happened to him," she said casually. Spike didn't look convinced, but accepted her explanation for her lingering doubts with an exasperated air.

"Ok, but are you sure you don't want me to come with you?" he asked. He had been asking all morning, worried for Twilight.

"No, Spike, it's fine. I'll have a princess there, remember? If anything bad happens she'll do something about it," she said gently. She knew the purple and green baby dragon was concerned for her, but she had expressed her capability at least ten times now. Spike sighed.

"Fine," he said. "What could possibly happen?"

"That was sarcasm, wasn't it?"

"Yeppo." Twilight sighed, then looked up at the massive oak doors that sealed off the palace. The great doors were flanked by guard-occupied towers on both sides, which, in turn, were flanked by giant crossbows manned by guard ponies. Twilight raised her eyebrow.

"Well, they seemed to have gone a bit overboard on the defenses, though I can't be one to complain. We might need them. Thanks for coming with me, Spike," Twilight said, nuzzling the dragon on the cheek.

"No problem, Twilight," replied Spike, who was going red slightly.

"I'll see you later, Spike. If he doesn't flip out too much that is. He has very strong magic, so… yeah," she said sheepishly, waving her hoof then walking up the steps to the great oak doors, which swung open, admitting her to the castle.

Twilight walked through the aged halls of the Canterlot Castle, breathing in the age that laced the air. The sunlight was filtered into the castle through the stained glass windows, each depicting a scene in history, whether it be just the annual celebration of a year, or an important event, such as the first Summer Sun Celebration. Twilight stopped for a moment to look at this very artwork. It depicted Princess Celestia raising the Sun with her magic, spreading light to the far corners of Equestria, or in this case, the window frame, dispelling the darkness that was there.

"I'm told it was a momentous occasion," said a voice to Twilight's left, making her leap a foot or so into the air. Luna stood next to Twilight, wearing a small grin on her face. A light blue mane framed her head; a mane similar to the one Twilight had first seen the true Luna wearing. Luna's wings were neatly groomed, any stray feathers were aligned and the whole thing looked like it had been given a two-hour wingicure. Twilight also noticed that she wasn't wearing her crown or royal necklace, or her polished shoes. As a result, her bare hooves were clopping against the floor every time she moved, although they too were gleaming with beauty. She had clearly had a hooficure as well.

"Princess Luna! I didn't hear you coming," Twilight said in a moment of surprise.

"Many don't when I fly," Luna replied, chuckling slightly. "I was also told it is humorous for friends to jokingly scare one-another nowadays."

"Yes, that's right," Twilight said, remembering that Luna had been stuck on the moon for a thousand years and therefore had no clue about modern socialization. "So, the first Summer Sun Celebration was a success, then?" Twilight asked, intrigued by Luna's comment.

"So I am told. I wasn't there," Luna replied with a sad look on her face and a deadened tone in her voice.

"Where were you then, if you don't mind me asking," Twilight asked.

"On the Moon," Luna said shortly.

"Oh…" Twilight whispered, taken aback, silently cursing her curiosity.

"It was the celebration of Celestia lifting the darkness I had shrouded the world in, when I was the monster of anger and bitterness, Nightmare Moon," said Luna in a calm tone. "But that is not why I wanted to talk to you. You know who Timekeeper's mother is, correct?" Twilight nodded. "Good. I would like you to come with me to visit him today so you could tell him."

"Today? This soon?" Twilight asked, shocked slightly.

"If we wait any longer, Timekeeper won't be around for us to tell him."

"Far enough," Twilight said, and she started walking towards the grand staircase that lead to the Clocktower, where the Great Hourglass was housed. "Just out of curiosity, why do you have your mane like that, and not in the Royal floaty hair style?" she asked.

"In truth, Twilight," Luna began, seeming to have regained some of her happiness. "I don't like the 'royal floaty hair', as you put it. I find it gets in the way. I much preferred my old manecut, so I used my magic to transform my mane into how it was in the past," Luna finished, now almost skipping alongside Twilight.

"Ooh, that would make sense," Twilight said, pondering the princess's words.

"Yes, well, what can I say? I lot changed in a thousand years. Ponies don't say 'thou' and 'thee' and princesses have long wavy multicolored manes," Luna replied, a slight tone of sadness once again creeping into her voice. "I miss the old days, Twilight. Everything was much simpler."

"Don't worry, Princess. You never know, the old ways might come back in one day," Twilight said. Luna snorted, then looked at Twilight thoughtfully.

"When the events of today are behind us, maybe you will be right, Twilight. Thank you," she said. Twilight shrugged, smiling.

"Glad I made you happy. Now, shall we get this over with?" Twilight said, gesturing towards the staircase. Luna nodded, her stance set firm and resolute.

"Lets go," she said, and started walking towards the door with a stance that Twilight had never before seen in her; Pride. Luna opened the door with her magic and started walking up the steep, spiraling stairs, her bare hooves clopping against the marble steps. As they climbed, Twilight became exhausted, but Luna never seemed to waver or slow down. If anything, as they went higher, Luna increased her pace, eager to get to the top. And, ten minutes later, they finally reached the top of the second tallest tower in Canterlot. Luna paused outside the door to let the breathless Twilight catch up. She looked at the lavender pony's heaving chest, concern creeping into her eyes.

"Sorry, Twilight," she said sorrowfully. Twilight just panted, trying to get her breath back.

"It's ok," she gasped. They waited there for a minute or two, and when Twilight finally got her breath back, they opened the tow oaken doors to see a surprising amount frantic energy when only two ponies were in the room. This room wasn't the hourglass room, merely the antechamber below it. On either side of the room was a door, one with Timekeeper's hourglass and key Cutie Mark above, the other with Doctor Whooves' hourglass. They were rushing about, carrying energy crystals, cables, gears, some thin metal tube with a green light on the end, and pretty much anything else you could think of. In the room was one brown earth pony and a navy blue alicorn with a gold and dark blue mane. The brown one was Doctor Whooves, the blue alicon's assistant and apprentice, even though Whooves was at least a year older than the alicon. The blue alicorn was Timekeeper; a pony that had been confined to a stasis crystal for the last thousand years, or something close to that after his mother had requested it. But spending the best part of a millennium in a stasis crystal had some very bad effects on Timekeeper. His muscles had degraded, albeit at a slow rate, but he had trouble moving. His hind legs were hard to move, and sometimes refused to obey his brain's commands. His front legs were going the same way, and his wings were barely usable. Twilight had often spent hours in the library trying to find a way to remedy his situation, but Celestia had told her:

"Everypony goes their way, Twilight. I tried to find a way to fix his legs before he even came out of the stasis crystal. It's my fault he stayed in there for so long anyway." Twilight remembered her words, and sighed, earning a glance from Luna. Luna tried a half smile in Twilight's direction, and Twilight responded with the same before looking back at the alicorn.

At the moment, Timekeeper was wiring some metal cube, asking Whooves for things every so often. He sat at a table in the corner of the room, using his magic to levitate a candle over his work, probably so he could see inside of the box.

"Bio-dampener," he suddenly called out, and Doctor Whooves passed him a dark green crystal with a metal circle on the top. Using his magic, Timekeeper levitated the crystal out of Whooves' hoof and painstakingly lowered it into the box, being extremely careful to not let it touch any of the sides. Suddenly, it clicked into place and Timekeeper let out a sigh of relief. He lifted his head and turned it to look at Doctor Whooves, but caught sight of Twilight and Luna out of the corner of his eye, and he gasped. "Twi? Luna? What are you two doing here?" he asked, walking forward after gesturing at Whooves, silently asking him to leave the trio of ponies alone.

"We came here to talk to you," Luna said, her voice gentle, reassuring.

"It's about your mother," Twilight continued. Timekeeper's eyes widened, glowing with hope. His horn started to glow with magic, and faint golden lines started to appear over his coat, those glowing too.

"Timekeeper, calm down," Luna said quickly, noticing the markings and glowyness. Twilight grimaced as she remembered yet another moment from her childhood with Timekeeper…

_Twilight was waiting in the Canterlot gardens for Cadence, when suddenly; out of nowhere, she appeared in a flash of cyan light. Cadence walked towards Twilight with a smile on her face. Twilight leapt off the bench she was sitting on and ran towards Cadence, wanting to embrace her, but she was stopped with a hoof, and a look in Cadence's eyes. They were slowly counting to three, and on the third number, being three, not four, but three, they both burst into song:_

"_Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake! Clap your hooves and do a little shake!" they both sung, and then laughed in pure joy._

"_Twilight, I have someone who I think you should meet with me today. His name is Timekeeper," and with that, Cadence lifted her wing to reveal a navy blue alicorn, who had a bare flank. When he realized that Cadence's wings no longer shielded him, he shied away to behind Cadence's flank. "Timekeeper, it's Celestia's wishes that you make a friend. I think that this is the perfect friend for you. You'll be seeing her in your magic class soon anyway," she said gently before looking at Twilight for help. The lavender pony walked forward slowly._

"_Hello," she said cheerfully. "My name is Twilight Sparkle. How are you?" Timekeeper looked Twilight directly in the eye, and she saw a pony older than her, older than her parents, older than her parents' parents, yet young at the same time. He tilted his head, curious as to why she hadn't run away yet. Normally any foals ran away as soon as he made eye contact. But this filly was different. Timekeeper walked out from behind Cadence's flank, and looked up into her reassuring eyes. Cadence nodded, smiling._

"_Umm… like Cadence said, I'm Timekeeper. I guess I am happy right now. Most ponies run away as soon as I look them in the eye," he said hesitantly. Twilight smiled warmly._

"_I'm not most ponies, Timekeeper. So Princess Celestia wants us to be friends? I think we can do that," she said, taking his hoof in hers. Timekeeper's horn began to glow, and golden lines appeared all over his blue coat. The light intensified, and Twilight backed away slowly. Timekeeper began to vibrate, going faster and faster until he suddenly stopped, then shot up into the air like a bullet, with a golden trail following him. A second later he landed back down with such force that he knocked Twilight off of her hooves. Timekeeper slowly opened his eyes and saw her lying on the ground, laughing, but covered in mud._

"_Umm… oops?"_

Twilight shook herself out of her flashback and joined in with efforts to calm Timekeeper down. They didn't want him rocketing through the roof, not with the Hourglass just above. Twilight walked up to him and pulled him into a small hug.

"Yes, it's about your mother," she said, letting go off him and looking into those ancient eyes. "But if you want to know who she is, you mustn't blow the Hourglass off of its pivot, ok?" Timekeeper nodded, and the glow subsided away, as did the markings on his coat.

"Why don't we go to the Canterlot gardens, where you two fist met?" asked Luna, looking at the embrace with tears in her eyes.

"Yes," Timekeeper said.

"That's a good idea, Luna," Twilight continued, and her horn lit up, instantly teleporting them to the exact spot where the two foals first met.

"So, your mother…" Luna began, sitting down on the grass and gesturing for them to do the same. "What can I tell you? She lives in the castle from time to time, she was once a very proud figure, but she was brought down by anger in her heart." Timekeeper nodded.

"She has an older sister, who was, until recently, more well known that her, but now they are of equal status," Twilight continued, glancing at Luna.

"She loves the night, but feels that not everyone appreciates it like she does," Luna finished.

"Any idea on who it is?" asked Twilight. Timekeeper seemed to mull it over in his head, his tail twitching like an excited cat.

"I have an idea, but it seems waaay too far-fetched," he said. Luna looked intrigued. Twilight looked at Luna excitedly. "Is she… Octavia?" Timekeeper asked out of nowhere, staring at their faces. Both Luna and Twilight were speechless, with their jaws practically on the ground. Timekeeper burst out laughing. "Oh, lordy, you should see the look on your faces! Priceless!" he said, pretty much shouting. "I'm only kidding, I have no idea who she is," he said, wiping tears of laughter out of his eyes. When he saw their faces, he immediately became serious again. Luna stood up and came to sit by Timekeeper.

"Timekeeper, have you ever wondered why there aren't many dark blue ponies around? Have you ever wondered where you got that coat from?" she asked urgently. Timekeeper again pondered the question.

"No, not really. Then again, I did question why I was a alicorn," he said, and in his eyes, a gear clicked. "There are only three other alicorns apart from me. I can count out Cadence because she is with Shining Armor. If Celestia got with a special somepony, the whole of Equestria would know about it. That leaves…" Timekeeper's eyes widened and he looked at Luna with a newfound feeling, or rather, turmoil of feelings. Twilight saw anger, love, and confusion amongst the storm going on in his head.

"Yes, Timekeeper. I am your mother," Luna said. Timekeeper stood up suddenly and looked down at Luna.

"All this time?" he demanded, suddenly angry. "All this time, you kept this secret? How many times could you have said?"

"I guess… I could have told you, but you weren't ready, Timekeeper!" Luna said, her voice slipping into a Royal Canterlot one.

"I was always ready! All you had to say was that you were my mother!" Timekeeper retorted, his eyes full of fire.

"Would you have believed me?!" Luna asked, shouting all the time.

"YES!" Timekeeper yelled, combining his natural shouting voice (which was loud) with his magic, so his voice was like Luna's Canterlot voice, only much louder. His eyes were filled with lava, fire and a cold glare the likes of which Luna or Twilight had never seen before.

"Oh…" Luna said, her voice suddenly quiet, sad, yet still with a hint of anger. Timekeeper turned around and stalked off.

"Well…" Twilight said, staring after her childhood friend.

"Well?!" shouted Luna, rounding on Twilight who cowered with fear. "Is that all you have to say?" she asked, advancing on Celestia's student with a cold stare. "This was your idea, your idea and… Celestia! She has always resented me, she did this to split me and him apart!" Luna shouted, pacing up and down the clearing.

"No, Luna, it's not like that," Twilight said, trying to calm the princess.

"Oh really? You really think that?" Luna retorted with bitterness and resentment in her eyes. "Well, I think that she hates me, that my own son hates me, that you hate me! Only the night brings me solace… the night. What if the night came now? My son would see who I truly am in the night," Luna muttered, thinking to herself. Twilight saw the thoughts going on in her head; she saw a devil coming back...

"Oh no…" she whispered, attracting Luna attention.

"What?" she said, suddenly curious.

"Luna, your coat!" she said, noticing fade darker and darker. The princess lifted her hooves and saw her hair darkern.

"Oh… oh no, nononono!" she shouted, but this time in fear. Because of the wards she had put around the Temple of the Moon to prevent any more surprise visits from her sister or niece, she felt several small amounts if metal pierce the veil around the Temple. She knew they were coming towards Canterlot, towards _her_. She also knew what the pieces of metal were. Nightmare Moon's armor. _Her _armor. Her bitterness and anger had awakened the beast inside of her.

"Twilight, you need to run. Get the Elements of Harmony, and warn my sister and son," Luna said, knowing that she had little time. "Go! Run!" she shouted after seeing Twilight's hesitation. Suddenly six specks of blue appeared in the sky. Luna reared. "RUN!" she shouted again, and this time Twilight fled, heading straight towards the castle part of Canterlot. The six specks grew larger, and Luna looked straight at them.

"You will have me, Nightmare Moon, but not for long," Luna said. "I will accept my punishment when it comes. But then question is, will you?" she asked the armor. Suddenly the shoes hurtled out of the sky and clamped themselves onto Luna's hooves. The chestpiece, when it hit her, nearly drove Luna into the ground. But the helmet was last, glowing with a dark power. Luna tried to block away her emotions, but they were too strong, and the helmet fastened upon her head. Her legs lengthened, her mane became uncontrollable and her eyelids became purple. She was no longer Luna, and when she spoke, her voice was deeper and melodious. She spoke to the cowering parent in her mind.

"We'll see, dear Luna, if we even receive the punishment you speak of. But first, lets see about bringing about eternal night," she cackled, and Nightmare Moon rose up on her hind legs, and began a storm that stretched from Canterlot to Fillydelphia. And then Nightmare Moon laughed and started to walk off, intent of bringing her night forward. She was so focused on this idea, that she didn't see the navy blue pony cowing below in the bushes. He looked up at the black alicorn that was once his mother, a mother he had rebuffed, a mother who _he _had turned into this monster. In a weak voice he said:

"What have I done?"


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

Timekeeper galloped towards the Throne Room of the Canterlot Castle as fast as his faulty back legs would carry him. The once navy blue coat of those legs was now a dull blue, almost grey. The same thing had happened to his wings, only they were a slightly lighter shade of blue and could still bear his weight for a limited period of time without causing intense pain. Remembering this, the blue alicon jumped as high into the air as his legs would allow and started to flap his wings, desperately attempting to gain altitude. Eventually, he managed to maintain a steady speed and height, and flew off to the Throne Room. Already he could see signs of Nightmare Moon's return. The sky had darkened, the moon had come up and blocked out the sun and storm clouds were rolling across the heavens, completely out of control of the pegasi. Timekeeper's eyes teared up again as he thought about what he had done, how this was _his _fault. But he shook his head, clearing it of these thoughts. He made this happen, so he needed to stop her, and return Luna to her body. With a resolute expression, Timekeeper zoomed off to the Throne Room as fast as his wings would carry him, dodging indoctrinated Night-Guards and panicking citizens along the way. Suddenly a battalion of Night-Guards materialized in front of him, blocking the way to the Throne Room.

Timekeeper skidded to a halt, and stared at the guards. They grinned smugly, believing that they had him trapped. Boy, they could not be more wrong. Timekeeper simply arched an eyebrow in their direction, and smiled back, causing them to take a step back in uncertainty.

"You thought that because of my illness, you would be able to take me _that _easily?" he said, putting on a mask of false bravado. For even though he had been told that he had strong magic, he wondered if he could pull this trick off.

In response to his statement, the guards took a step forward and opened their wings to their full extent. Timekeeper just sighed with fake exasperation. He stood up and also opened his wings, closing his eyes as he did so. Timekeeper heard the lead guard laugh, and order a charge to try and capture the young alicorn. As their hooves thundered closer, Timekeeper focused, brining forth magic right from his deepest reserves, and then further, tapping into the magic of the Hourglass itself. He heard the hooves suddenly stop, and a worried whinny from at least one of the Night-Guards.

The lead guard, Shadowfax, led the charge with the combined hooves thundering in time, when suddenly the subject of their exertions started to glow, a golden corona surrounding his navy blue coat. Shadowfax pulled himself to a stop, and raised his hoof, signaling for the others to stop as well. One guard let out an uncertain whinny. Timekeeper suddenly opened his eyes, revealing that they had been replaced with a blinding white light. He spread his wings, revealing lines down the flights of the feathers, lines of gold. Far above him, the top of the Hourglass Tower glowed the same colour as the lines on Timekeeper's wings, creating a surge of power that was even felt by the non-unicorn ponies. A beam of light shot down to the alicorn in front of Shadowfax, hitting him square on and enveloping him in a ball of white light. Thinking that Timekeeper had been knocked unconscious, Shadowfax started to move forwards, but the light faded, revealing a Timekeeper that was taller, his coat darker by several shades and wearing armour similar to that of Nightmare Moon, except fashioned out of gold. Timekeeper put all four hooves on the ground, started to slowly walk forwards towards Shadowfax and the guards. His eyes were again their normal colour, but a little brighter. The striking similarity to Nightmare Moon rose fear in the chest of Shadowfax. As Timekeeper neared the battalion, the less courageous ones turned tail and ran. Shadowfax took a step backwards, terrified of this new adversary. Timekeeper tilted his head, and his horn glowed with a golden radiance. He was preparing his magic, and with that, Shadowfax too turned tail and ran.

As the battalion of Night-Guards ran, Timekeeper smiled an uncertain smile. How had he done that so easily? He shook his head to clear it, but somehow it felt odd, like his horn was bigger. He made a quick mirror out of magic, and looked in it. He saw that his horn had doubled, if not tripled in length and that he was wearing a golden helmet that was somehow familiar. With a shock, Timekeeper realized that it was almost exactly the same as Nightmare Moon's. Timekeeper tilted the mirror to see the rest of his body, and saw he was wearing intricate golden armor, as well as becoming at least two feet taller. Fear and apprehension filled his body, not knowing what had happened. Was he still himself, or was he an evil version, full of spite and hatred? Timekeeper searched inside his emotions, and saw that he was still who he was before, but he sensed another presence, one that was far older then he, than Luna or Celestia even. Shaking that aside, he faced forward towards the problem at hand. Perhaps his new form could help him restore his mother's mind? Thinking up ideas as he went, Timekeeper resumed his attempted sprint towards the throne room. But even though he had grown in size and power, his legs were still as bad as ever.

As he neared the Throne Room, Timekeeper's legs gave out under him, dumping him on the ground with a grunt. He tried to get back up, but his legs simply would not support him. But at that moment, the great oak doors to the Throne room flew open, and Princess Celestia came hurtling out of it as if she had been thrown. She came to a stop beside Timekeeper, somehow managing to stay upright on her hooves. She was scratched, cut, multiple feathers had been pulled out of her wings, her mane was in disarray and she looked like she was about to destroy the Throne Room, she was that angry. Celestia was about to rush in, but Timekeeper cleared his throat in hope to attract her attention. It worked, and Celestia looked over to Timekeeper.

"Timekeeper?!" she exclaimed, taking a step towards him.

He nodded weakly.

"Yeah," he said. "My legs are gone. I can't walk."

"So I see," Celestia replied. "What happened to you?" she then asked, noticing the changes and armor.

"I was cornered, and I just summoned some magic, enough to try and put on enough of a show to scare the Night-Guards away. Apparently, I did more than that," Timekeeper said.

"Hmm… We'll have to talk about that later, but right now I have to deal with my sister," Celestia said. Timekeeper shook his head.

"No," he protested. "It's my fault; I need to make this right!"

"It may be your fault, but I don't think you have enough power to send her to the moon."

"That's just a ridiculous idea anyway. Let me try to get your sister." Timekeeper voiced this suggestion with certainty; a sudden plan forming unexpectedly in is head. Celestia tilted her head, as if thinking about it, but Timekeeper could see in her eyes that she wasn't going to let him.

"Please, Tia," Timekeeper pleaded. That shocked her. Only her sister called her 'Tia'.

"Fine, but I'm interfering as soon as anything goes wrong," Celestia said, giving in begrudgingly. Timekeeper smiled, and then remembered he couldn't get up.

"Ah," he said, looking back at his grey legs. Celestia pulled out a glass vial from her mane. She looked grim.

"This is a potion that will give you a burst of extra energy. Luna made it after she heard about your predicament, and gave it to me. I had hoped to keep it as a last resort, but I guess we need it now," she explained, answering Timekeeper's confused look. Without a word, he took the potion off of her hoof, took its cap off and downed it in one gulp.

It tasted like sour grapes mixed with lemons. Timekeeper shook his head to clear his moth of the bitter taste, and stood up with ease.

"I guess it worked," he said, looking at his legs. He looked back at Celestia, who was looking at him thoughtfully.

"You have more of Nightmare Moon in you than I thought," she said quietly. Timekeeper tilted his head curiously.

"Let's just go get Luna back, ok Tia?" he asked, looking Celestia hard in the eye.

"Yes, that would be best," she said, then walked with him as they both entered the Throne Room, Timekeeper fading into invisibility along the way.

Inside the Throne Room Nightmare Moon was sitting on the golden throne, looking all proud and mighty, and beside her was the lavender pony, Twilight Sparkle, all bound in black iron chains and cut and bruised all over. Nightmare Moon sneered as Celestia approached, apparently alone.

"You're back… again. Will you ever give up?" she said, exasperated, whilst levitating a piece of fruit to eat.

"I'm not doing anything right now. I just came to watch," Celestia replied.

"Watch what?" Nightmare asked, curious.

"Me," said Timekeeper, materializing out of thin air and coming to stand in front of Celestia whilst facing his mother.

"Timekeeper…" Nightmare said, a small spark appearing in her eye. She suddenly twitched and flickered, becoming Princess Luna for a second, then switched back into Nightmare Moon, letting the apple drop to the floor with a surprisingly loud clunk. Timekeeper looked back at Celestia and saw her, her mouth agape. Nopony had ever tried this approach to Nightmare before.

"Come on, Luna," he mumbled under his breath. Nightmare Moon's eyes were still confused.

"How dare you try to manipulate me, you little foal!" she shouted across the hall. "What were you trying to do, anyway?" she asked.

"Get you to remember," Timekeeper replied. "Luna's is in there, and she will come out."

"Luna is dead!" Nightmare yelled. "Instead, I am here, a much stronger, better pony."

"No, no and no, Nightmare," Timekeeper said, somehow keeping his cool under the unyielding onslaught of Nightmare Moon's magically enhanced voice. He took a few steps closer to Nightmare, letting his enlarged form fade into sand, which then collapsed to the floor. He shrunk back into his original form, the excess fur, skin and muscle dissolving and floating away as a cloud of dark blue and yellow dust. "Luna is both stronger and alive, and most definitely better than you."

"She is not," the Dark Princess said defiantly, but with a hint of doubt in her voice, caused by the certainty in Timekeeper's voice.

"Luna, I know you can hear me," Timekeeper said, raising his voice as if to penetrate the cage that surrounded Luna's mind, keeping it locked inside of Nightmare Moon's identity. "Don't you remember, when you came back, I welcomed you to the castle, helped you find your way around and got to know you? You yourself said that you were thankful that I had done that, even with my legs. Do you not remember the time when we sat underneath the silver tree in the garden, admiring the stars? Do you not remember?"

At these words, the spark appeared again, and again Nightmare's form flickered, Luna appearing in its place, but this time it remained stable for a split second longer, with a confident Night Princess sitting on the throne instead of Nightmare Moon. But then, her form flickered again and switched back to the Mare in the Moon, who looked angrier than ever. All of her evident rage focused on Timekeeper, who was wearing a disappointed and slightly worried expression.

"YOU!" she shouted, leaping off of the throne and trotting towards the young alicorn. "I WILL MAKE YOU SUFFER!" Timekeeper began slowly taking steps backwards, his expression becoming more worried with each hoofstep Nightmare Moon took towards. He began to glance at Princess Celestia, but she only nodded encouragingly. She simply mouthed:

"You can do it." Timekeeper nodded, and walked stubbornly up to Nightmare Moon and looked her directly in the eye. Nightmare replied by staring directly back. Then Timekeeper did something that he most probably shouldn't have done. Stood up on his hind hooves and put his arms around Nightmare's neck, hugging her tightly. He whispered in her ear, and said:

"I'm sorry for what I said. Please come back. Twilight, Celestia, they all need you. _I _need you. Please." He was practically sobbing into Nightmare's coat as he said this, letting all of his remorse, regret and love for Luna spill out, while at the same time making an Empathic connection between the Mother and Son so she could feel Timekeeper's feelings, hoping to heaven and hell that Luna would fight against Nightmare. And she did. Timekeeper felt Nightmare Moon's coat shift and change, becoming less coarse and harsh. The dark presence that had dominated the room until that point slowly faded away, and navy blue legs came up to reach around Timekeeper, and wings of the same shade enveloped the young colt.

"It's alright, child. I'm here," Luna's voice said close to his ear. Timekeeper looked up into Luna's face, boring deep into Luna's eyes, revealing to her that after you got through his outer shell, there was a very fragile pony in there. Luna was still wearing Nightmare Moon's armor, but it had been shrunk down to fit a pony of Luna's size.

"Mother… I'm so sorry," Timekeeper said.

"No, it's my fault for not telling you sooner," Luna replied, her voice full of remorse. Timekeeper and Luna let go of each other and dropped to the ground in time with each other, the newfound light that streamed through the windows hitting them straight on.

"There are Night-Guards rampaging around the city, sister," Celestia called from behind Timekeeper. Luna nodded and began to walk towards the exit as Timekeeper walked past her to free Twilight from her chains, when suddenly the dark blue mare froze, her eyes twitching, and yet again her form flickered, Nightmare Moon appearing in an instant where Luna had once stood, her back hoof flying out to hit Timekeeper in the side of the ribcage. Nightmare Moon let out a yell, with Luna doing the same, both of them seeming to occupy the others mind at the same time, desperate to take control of the body. Nightmare managed to get control again and face towards Celestia, who readied her magic with a glowing horn. Nightmare Moon made one final charge at Celestia, her horn glowing with a dark purple halo.

_*Shlick!*_

The sickening sound of weapon sliding through flesh was heard throughout the spacious throne room, causing both the regal princesses to stop in their tracks and look over towards the source of the sound. There was Timekeeper, laying on the ground next the stained glass window that depicted the birth of an alicorn prince so long ago, with a jagged piece of glass piercing his side. In the depiction Luna was standing in a room, holding a little blob of blue in her hooves, whilst in her shadow Nightmare Moon was depicted, lurking just out of sight. Evidently the force of Nightmare's kick had sent him into the stained glass depiction, and the loose piece of glass that was Nightmare Moon's horn had fallen out of its frame and into Timekeeper. As Nightmare realized what had happened, Luna seized the opportunity to grab control of her body and lock Nightmare Moon away. Celestia gasped at the sight of Timekeeper's mutilated form, and Twilight screamed from over in the corner. Celestia ran over to Twilight, while Luna galloped full pelt over to Timekeeper, tearing her armor of with magic along the way. She came to a stop just beside the fallen alicorn, who had started to cough up blood.

"Oh… this is not good for us," he said, his speech adopting a more old-fashioned pattern as he spoke. Twilight, now free of her black chains, trotted over to beside Luna, and Celestia took up the other side. "We did not expecteth it to end this way." Twilight and Celestia looked confused at the way Timekeeper spoke, but Luna nodded her head, understanding why he spoke like that.

"Thy words of this modern tongue never felt right in thy mouth, didth they?" she responded in kind to his muttered comment, bring his attention back to her. Timekeeper simply shook his head.

"No, they never did Mother," Timekeeper mumbled, his head telling Luna that he was facing her, but his eyes telling her that he couldn't quite see.

"Timekeeper, we're sorry for not telling thee sooner," she said, salty tears streaming down her face. Timekeeper shook his head and tried to reach up and put his hoof on her face, but missed. Instead, Luna took his hoof and put it on her cheek.

"Don't be sorry. Thy had thy reasons, and we overreacted. It was too much for us, and that in turn was too much for thee. It is us who should be apologizing," he said, tears to starting to creep down his face as unseen pain gripped his soul in an iron embrace.

"Why shouldn't we be sorry!? Thou art dying!" Luna protested, her face contorting in sadness and distress.

"We were dying anyway," Timekeeper replied calmly, as if he either had no energy to reply with emotion, or he had become blank to the world. Luna had no words, and could only look at Timekeeper. "Do us one last favor, Mother. Don't be sad. Thou wilt see us again, just not in the way thy expects." Luna nodded again, wiping her eyes with her hooves, and as Timekeeper slowly faded, she sang:

_The Moooooon,_

_So high and bright…_

_The Moon, so paaale and liiight,_

_Though seemingly independent,_

_Nothing flows without time._

_They come and they go,_

_To see and flow,_

_And take ponies with them_

_When it's time._

_But even though they are gone,_

_They stay with us in rhyme._

As Luna finished her verse, Timekeeper's eyes suddenly lost focus, and he breathed out one final time, a look of peace upon his face. Luna broke down in fresh tears as Celestia and Twilight both put their hooves around the Princess of the Night. Luna went to put her hoof around Timekeeper's body, but suddenly it began to glow with a painfully white light. Luna averted her eyes only when she couldn't bear the light any longer, loath to leave her son's body, and when the light faded and she looked back, Timekeeper's body was crumbling, dissolving into specks of dust in the breeze, each speck twinkling a gold or blue color. The dust floated out of the gap in the stained glass frame, leaving the two alicorns and the unicorn alone with their grief.

**A/N: Welp! That happened. Sorry for taking the chapter down just after it had been put up, but I gained the help of two very good PreReaders, White Wolf Phoenix and DarkDragon567, who have helped me edit this and have also helped me a great deal. Go check them out, I hugely recommend them and thank them. Also, in a few days time the name of this fic will be changed to:**

"**The Son of the Moon"**

**See what I did there? xD This is because someone pointed out to me that the current title doesn't quite match, so this title will take it's place. Thanks all for reading; Chapter Four is in production, which is good. See y'all later!**

**-SplattyHart**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

As the last notes of his mother's song echoed into silence in Timekeeper's ears, he once again became aware of his surroundings and of his physical state. A dull throb radiated from where the glass shard had pierced his body, producing a fatal wound that had caused his death within a matter of minutes… This realization brought Timekeeper's thoughts to the most immediate concern. If he was dead, why could he feel pain? Timekeeper got up, dazedly noticing that his back legs were fully functional, but that came second to other thoughts, as he was still trying to work out where he was. The floor underneath his hooves was solid, and it was connected to four walls made out of plaster-covered wood, so he was in a room. But where was the room? Wishing he could at least see outside, Timekeeper walked over to one of the walls when suddenly there was a pop, and a large glass window appeared on the wall, letting him view the outside world.

Timekeeper went over to the window and stood up on his hind legs, putting his forehooves on the windowsill, and looked out over the paradise laid out before him. There were grass fields where ponies could run, and indeed ponies were running, frolicking, holding competitions and generally having a good time. Not just ponies were there, either, but Zebras, Griffons, Horses and Dragons as well. Behind the fields was a city, made of the purest marble. Far in the distance, in the very center of the city, were five glowing orbs, all clustered around a sixth orb. The orbs hovering around the six were pink, red, yellow, green and blue, and the middle orb was purple in color. Those colors rang a bell in Timekeeper's mind, but he could not quite recall why. Then, he gasped, remembering exactly what those colors were.

"The actual Elements of Harmony," he muttered under his breath. "If the true Elements are here, then where in Equestria am I?"

"Not in Equestria at all, little one. Not even on Earth, or in your dimension." Said a voice behind him, a voice that was clear and melodic, like a smoothly flowing brook as it bubbled over. Timekeeper gasped a second time, whirling around to face source of the voice. Before him stood the origin of the soft-spoken words, an ivory alicorn mare with a red mane. However, unlike the manes of Celestia of his mother's when she first visited Ponyville, it didn't seem to flow without the wind. Instead, her mane lay in a natural fashion, like the manes of most ponies did. The mare's CutieMark was five gems that resembled the colored orbs in the middle of the city, arranged as they were around a gem in the centre that corresponded with the colour and position of its counterpart in the orb pattern, all on a golden crest. Timekeeper's eyes widened. Standing in front of him was Lady Harmony, the first pony to spread the word about Harmony in an ever-chaotic land that was Primal Equestria. She had bound the Elements in ponies that she thought represented Laughter, Kindness, Loyalty, Honesty, Generosity and Magic to their fullest potential and used their combined power to bring balance to the land. The Elements had named this balance after her, and when Harmony died, she was immortalized as an Alicorn. After that, Nopony knew what had happened to her, but now… Harmony herself was in front of Timekeeper. To say he was shocked would be a major understatement.

"Lady Harmony!" he shouted in shock, before covering his muzzle with a hoof and dropping into a low bow.

"Rise, Timekeeper. You do not need to bow to me," Harmony said in her melodic voice. As Timekeeper rose, Harmony continued. "To answer your question, you are in the Citadel, the afterlife for all of Equestria. Every pony, griffon, zebra or dragon who has ever lived is here, living in peace. That is why you are here. To put it simply, you died," she deadpanned.

"With all due respect, my Lady, but I know I am dead," Timekeeper said, letting a little exasperation slip into his voice. "But if I have ceased to live, why am I in here instead of out there?" he asked. Harmony laughed at this exasperation, letting the 'Royal Goddess' act drop. She looked at Timekeeper right into his eyes.

"Because you died before your time, and the Cycle must continue," she said, starting to walk towards the wall to her left. When she neared the wall, a hole appeared revealing a portal that was surrounded by a golden frame. It shimmered and shifted as though made of silver liquid. The portal seemed as if it were trying to break free from its frame to envelope her. She looked at Timekeeper, and motioned her head, telling him silently to go through the portal. Timekeeper took an uncertain step towards the liquid-like substance, but hesitated. For all he knew, this was sending him to the Moon. He looked at Harmony, who said:

"For this to work, you need to trust me, Timekeeper. I know what it feels like to come back, dead yet alive. You're not certain about anything; you don't know whom to trust. But you need to trust me, Timekeeper." Timekeeper nodded and, with a resolute expression, strode towards the portal, hesitating once again for a split second before going through.

Timekeeper emerged on the other side in a large plaza, it's border fringed with grass and flowers. In the centre of the plaza were the Elements of Harmony; strong pulsating lights that were the keys to keeping balance across Equestria. As Timekeeper gazed once more at the Elements, Harmony appeared next to him, as if out of thin air. She too looked up at the orbs of light. Timekeeper turned his head to look up at her, and she simply sighed.

"These lights are not the true Elements of Harmony," she began, and Timekeeper got the feeling that he was about to get the answers to his unasked questions. "The Elements are not a physical thing, Timekeeper. They are a notion, a force. For example, if you could narrow the whole of Laughter into an object or pony, what or who would it be?" she asked.

Timekeeper thought for a while, then said:

"Pinkie Pie."

Harmony laughed a kind laugh.

"Yes… and no, little one," she said kindly, looking at Timekeeper. She motioned her head to a spot of grass under a maple tree, and the two ponies walked under it, sitting down in the cool shade. "While Pinkie Pie is a pony who laughs a lot, she isn't the true Element of Laughter. Do not take this the wrong way, but she is merely a representation of Laughter, not Laughter itself. This goes for Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Fluttershy as well. They are the ponies that represent their Element the best. Their destiny as the representations of the Elements was set before they were born, and all of them in conjoined power creates balance in Equestria. But those ponies are not the only beings that represent the Elements of Harmony. There are dragons, griffons, zebras and horses that represent Harmony, but they all do it in a different way. This is because one being cannot alone represent one of the Elements of Harmony, therefore the Elements are spread across all of the races. Do you understand?"

Timekeeper nodded, but then frowned and said:

"But what does this have to do with this Cycle of yours? What is the Cycle anyway?" Timekeeper asked, looking at Harmony with curiosity. Harmony hesitated, trying to think of a way to explain it simply, but then decided to go full out and hoped that the little alicorn would understand.

"The Cycle cannot exist without Harmony, and Harmony cannot exist without the Cycle. Just like Harmony, the Cycle is composed of Elements that are represented in beings. These Elements are Day, Night, Love and Time. But unlike the Elements of Harmony, these Elements are managed by one pony each. Can you figure out who those ponies are? She asked, coming to the end of another long explanation.

Timekeeper held up a hoof, already thinking on who these ponies were. If four ponies each managed the four Elements of the Cycle, then those ponies would have to be strong, both mentally and physically. Day, Night, Love and Time… the Alicorns!

"Would it be Celestia for Day, Luna- sorry, Mother for Night and Cadence for Love?" he inquired, looking at Harmony closely, who smiled.

"Yes, but who for Time?" she replied. At Timekeeper's dumbfounded expression, she sighed and simply said:

"You."

Timekeeper stood up suddenly and looked at Harmony.

"That can't be right? Sure, I looked after the Hourglass, but that doesn't make the representation of Time… does it?" he said, uncertainty creeping into his voice even as he said it.

Harmony nodded, and continued with her explanation of the Cycle as Timekeeper sat down again.

"Alicorns know their foal's destiny from the day they are born, hence why Luna was called 'Luna', as her destiny was to control the Moon, and, through that, the Element of Night," she said. "That is why Luna called you Timekeeper, because she knew that you would be the one to take over from Eclipse at handling time… when the time was right. But fate was twisted," she said, stopping suddenly. Timekeeper looked at her with concern.

"What happened, Harmony?" he said quietly. The red-haired alicorn sighed.

"Your father, the unicorn Eclipse died whilst fighting Nightmare Moon, in the Battle for Equestria. Thus, the responsibility of Time, an entire raging sea, was placed on top of you. Each Element-Bearer's life overlaps slightly with the last, thereby making sure that the element did not overwhelm the other Bearer. You were maybe a year old; in alicorn terms you were still a newborn. You should have been at least 750 years old before that happened. You should have been entering the phase of alicorn life that is adolescence when the weight of time was thrust onto your shoulders. The only reason why you look as old as you do now is because you still aged inside that stasis crystal, but at a slowed rate," she said, starting off quietly, then regaining her confidence as she continued.

"So how did I survive?" he asked, intrigued.

"You could just about manage it whilst you were subconscious. Celestia also took a large amount of the responsibility off your shoulders, but gradually gave it back to you after you woke up. But, alas, it was still too much for you, and your body started to wither away under the pressure of Time. That's the reason why your legs stopped working, and why it would have killed you," she finished.

Harmony watched Timekeeper attentively as he lapsed into an uneasy silence, clearly thinking about the truths he had been told. Timekeeper remained in silence for the best part of five minutes, before raising his head off of the ground he had put it on. Harmony could see something new behind Timekeeper's eyes, a sense of certainty, but also unease.

"How old should I be, exactly?" he asked Harmony. The alicorn mare thought for a while and then came to a conclusion.

"About fourteen years old in normal pony terms," she said in moderate certainty. "Give or take a few months."

"So what happens now? You still haven't explained why I woke up in that room instead of in a house here," Timekeeper asked.

"I haven't explained, but I did tell you. Your time didn't come when it was supposed to. Each Bearer has a preset time when they die to avoid leaving the Elements of both Harmony and the Cycle on the shoulders of too few. Your time wasn't then," she explained.

"But I still died," Timekeeper pointed out.

"Yes, but you are not dead," she said cryptically. "To be dead requires your destiny to be fulfilled, for Element-Bearers at least. You may have ceased to breathe in that world, but a fragment of your soul remains in Equestria, waiting for you."

"You mean I can go back?!" Timekeeper half-shouted, leaping to his hooves. Harmony nodded, smiling.

"Things will change for you, Timekeeper. You will not be the pony you once were. Not physically, at least. Are you sure you want to go back?" she asked, looking at Timekeeper with concern. Timekeeper hesitated, then nodded firmly. Harmony stood up, towering over Timekeeper for one last time. "Then go, and take the blessing of Harmony Seasons with you" she said, closing her eyes as her horn glowed with a multi-colored light.

"Harmony?," Timekeeper asked as Harmony readied her magic. She opened one eye and looked at Timekeeper questioningly. "Thank you," he said, smiling. Harmony smiled back.

"Anytime," she said, and there was a burst of white light. When the light had faded, Timekeeper was gone.

**A/N: Hey everyone, here's the next chapter. Sorry it's short, but I wanted to use this chapter to explain a few things that will probably feature in my other FanFics, as well as explain how Timekeeper went back. Thanks to DarkDragon567 and White Wolf Phoenix for BetaReading and helping me to improve, again I highly recommend them. Thanks to you guys and gals out there for reading, please review below and stay tuned for more.**

**-SplattyHart**


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